This invention relates generally to the field of golf training aids and more specifically to an apparatus for indicating the proper pendulum putting stroke to a golfer. It has been known for quite some time since the advent of modern era golf greens, that the pendulum stroke is the preferred putting stroke. Before greens were fast and smooth, a wristy, hands dominated putting stroke was used by most professional golfers. With the development of smooth golf greens through agricultural grass research that has produced grass strains with fine blades that allow shorter mower cuts, a putting stroke which locks the wrists and uses the large muscles in the arms and shoulders has been adopted by the vast majority of golf professionals. This arms oriented stroke has been named the pendulum putting stroke. Almost every expert in golf instruction recommends the pendulum stroke yet, no one can actually show a golfer exactly what it is. Metronomes are usually suggested as a means of teaching a golfer how to keep a consistent back and forth rhythm. A pendulum putting stroke takes the same time to travel from the top of the backswing though impact to the top of the followthrough regardless of the putting stroke length, so golfers practice short strokes, medium strokes, and long strokes while listening to a metronome's tick tock sound. The top of the backswing is reached at the tick and the downswing is completed at the tock. Looking to the pendulum as an analog to the putting stroke, leading golf instructors see the pendulum's smooth acceleration and constant timing as an ideal device to emulate in putting.
Prior tempo training aides consist of devices that provide audio, visual, or vibration signals that indicate various points in the golf swing. Most indicate the beginning, backswing, and downswing phases of a full golf swing or putting stroke. Metronome devices indicate the timing between the two endpoints of the golf stroke, the top of the backswing to the end of the downswing. For a putting stroke, the metronome tick sound corresponds to the top of the backswing while the tock sound corresponds to the end of the downswing. Five U.S. patents disclose audible sound producing metronomes either worn by the golfer, placed near the golfer or placed inside the golf club handle including U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,807 to Bendo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,281 to Berghofer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,790 to Anthes, U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,707 to Fink, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,352 to Smith. One approach, U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,519 to Sabowitz, provides an audio or visual indication for the start of the backswing, the half swing point, the top of the backswing, and the impact point on the downswing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,538 describes a putting trainer that has a microswitch onto which the toe of a putter contacts in order to detect the start of the backswing when the putter is moved and the microswitch opens. Adjustment knobs set the time duration of the backswing and the downswing. Control circuitry produces a sensible signal, which is described by the inventor as a visual or audible signal detected by the golfer, at the top of the backswing and at the end of the downswing. Still another approach, U.S. Pat. Application Publication No. US 2004/0214651 A1 to Park provides a tone or vibration to indicate the start and duration of the backswing, followed by a tone or vibration to indicate the start and duration of the downswing. A series of Leds arranged in a circular fashion on the front of the display indicate for the purposes of adjustment setup, the timing of the backswing and downswing that will be executed when placed in the audio or vibration mode.
Prior putting tempo training aids suffer several disadvantages. Most of the training aids relate to the full golf swing and not specifically to the putting stroke. If applied to the putting stroke, the simpler training aids that output an audible or visual indicator at the top of the backswing and the end of the downswing provide only two data points in the overall putting stroke dynamic. These aids fail to indicate to the golfer where the putter should be between the two points. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2004/0214651 A1 provides an audio beep or buzzer for the backswing start, top of the swing pause, and start of the downswing. A series of LEDs, in LED mode, placed in a small circle on the outside of the housing depicts 17 positions in a full swing pattern that flash on in sequence to indicate the backswing and downswing timing selected by the golfer prior to actual use. However, the LEDs are only viewed for device setup and are not watched while making a full swing. The Led sequence's purpose is not to show the golfer a detailed time position guide to strike a ball a desired distance. Furthermore, a full swing depiction does not provide a golfer with a relevant putting stroke guide. Although these aids provide tempo signals that aid a golfer in building a repeatable stroke, they do not show the golfer how to execute a putting stroke that will roll a golf ball a desired distance. It is the goal of the present invention to indicate to the golfer through a series of visual indicators, the proper pendulum stroke dynamics to produce a desired distance putt on a green of known green speed and with a personal putting tempo in beats per minute. Using the present invention, a golfer enters the green speed, beats per minute, and the desired distance and by following the resulting LED sequence pattern with his/her putter, will learn the backswing and downswing dynamics to stroke a golf ball a desired distance.